Not only is that more than five times what his campaign reported in the previous quarter, but it’s more than twice the reported revenue of his nearest rival, Ontario MP Kellie Leitch, who led the (admittedly much smaller) pack of candidates in the last round of reporting.

In June, Leitch’s team reported contributions totalling $234,785, compared to $84,689.38 for fellow Ontarian Michael Chong and just $56,902.83 for Bernier.

Like Bernier, Chong got a boost in financial support over the summer, with his final take for the three-month blitz rising to $124,224.34, but Leitch trended downwards, reporting just $215,635.97.

Now former candidate Tony Clement, who joined the race in mid-July, managed to raise just $20,080 before dropping his bid to lead the party.

Finally, Alberta MP Deepak Obhrai reported only $1,100 in contributions from two donors during the third quarter, although he didn’t formally launch his campaign until September, just a few weeks before the cut-off for the quarterly report.

Bernier may be in front now, but he’d be wise not to ease up on the hard sell on the hustings.

The next batch of reports, which will be released early next year, will likely reveal a far tighter financial footrace, as it will also include the first numbers from Andrew Scheer, Brad Trost, Erin O’Toole, Chris Alexander, Steven Blaney and other recent additions to the ballot.

Under Elections Canada rules, the maximum annual contribution to leadership candidates in a particular party race is $1,525.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party collected just over $60,000 in processing fees. The party also reported receiving just over $3 million in donations during the last quarter, while the New Democrats fell below the $1 million mark for the first time since 2011.

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